6 Tips to Fight Against Motion Sickness

Have you ever experienced motion sickness? It’s pretty unpredictable, can happen either on a short or long trip, and happening on both men and women. And most of all, it’s a very unpleasant feeling.

This article has been written for you if you want to know more about motion sickness, how to prevent and fight it the best way possible.

What Causes Motion Sickness?

Basically, it results from an internal sensory conflict between your vision, inner ear, and motion perception. Nausea is the major symptom, however there is often also stomach pains, malaise, drowsiness, and irritability.

While you’re in a car as a passenger, your senses can be confused as you’re not moving your body, you’re not controlling the exact path of the car, and you don’t necessarily see the road. That’s why your senses send different contradictory information to your brain, which results in a motion sickness.

Note that either men and women can have motion sickness. However, it has been proved that it affects even more young women (teenagers and young adults).

Where Can Motion Sickness Occur?

In a car (or bus): try to conduct the car if possible (and if you have your driving license of course) or in the front seat as you’ll get a better view of the road. Also, if you experience motion sickness, it’s preferable not to read or be on your phone. Simply look at the road

In a boat: eat nourishing food such as pasta, rice, or dried fruits just before leaving (not too much of course) in order to avoid hypoglycemia. The most stable area on a boat in just in the center

In a train: always choose a seat in forward direction so that you can see and anticipate the train’s movements

In a plane: this is more about stress than motion sickness. Try out some breathing exercises that can help you relax. Choose a seat at the wing section as it’s most stable

If you feel sick while you’re on the road, there are some remedies that you can apply in order to prevent and fight against motion sickness. You don’t have to wait to be older, you actually can fight against it and you’ll learn to love road trips 🙂

That’s that simple! Try out these below advices and you might cure against motion sickness. And as always, leave us a comment if you have a tip that we should add to the list.

#1- Improve Your Dietetic Hygiene

In order to prevent motion sickness, try to eat healthy to feel less stomach pain. Also, it’s important to avoid food high in histamine, as they increase risks of vomiting.

Foods with a high amount of histamine:

Alcohol

Pickles

Matured cheeses

Smoked meat products – salami, ham, sausages….

Shellfish

Nuts – walnuts, cashew nuts

Chocolates and other cocoa based products

Some foods also contribute to gastric reflux, so it’s best if you don’t eat them before your trip. Foods that increase gastric reflux are vinaigrette, soft drinks, orange juice, and spicy food.

#2- Take Some Vitamin C

You can take a pill every morning and evening during 2 or 3 days before your trip.

#3- Don’t Forget to Breath

And you can start this before your trip. Indeed, it can be really helpful to prevent motion sickness. During 5 minutes, train your abdominal breathing by breathing in slowly, filling your stomach with air, then breathing out, pulling your stomach in.

Abdominal breathing makes you use your diaphragm. This way, it’s less available to make your sick and cause vomiting. If you feel that you’re getting motion sickness during your trip, try out to focus on your breathing.

#4- Learn to Deal with Your Stress

The stresser you are, the more risks you have to get motion sickness. You can learn to deal with your stress in order to feel relaxed in transportation.

For example, practicing any form of yoga or meditation in your life might help you deal better with your feelings and your stress. Best is to practice either yoga and meditation on a daily basis, not just a few times before your trip.

#5- Stay Positive

This one might ask you to work a bit on yourself. The goal is to create a positive feeling and image of your trip. How can you do that? Well, a few weeks before your trip, pause for 3 to 5 minutes daily to think about the positive aspect of your trip.

Either if you are you going to see your family, some old friends, or discovering a new country; always find a positive image to overcome your stress and motion sickness. This mental preparation can help you to control your fears while focusing on the positive.

#6- Planning Is Everything

Everything you plan will cause you less stress. For example, for long trips, think about snacks, drinks, but also music and games. Remember to also wear some comfy clothes. Nobody will judge you for what you’re wearing on a long trip 🙂

If you’re taking some motion sickness pills, always try them one week before in order to be sure they’re the correct medications for you.

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